By Niels Viaene

After a tumultous time for Gentry since the big C shook up the entire community it is time to pick up where we left and with that comes better planning, content, and communication about what you can expect in the future, so below you will find the calendar and some explanation on what you can expect from Gentry in the next months.

The Calendar

Please understand that a lot of these events have just been made and still need to get fleshed out in the coming weeks and months.

Sept 9th Dominaria United is released and Gentry rotates together with Standard

Sept 25th Sunday Magic Gentry in de Vrolijke Viking

Oct 23rd Sunday magic Gentry in de Vrolijke Viking

Nov 18th The Brother’s war is released

Nov 27th Sunday Magic Gentry in de Vrolijke Viking

Dec 3rd-4th Cardwallet tournament series featuring a Gentry Open Trial

Dec 11th INVITATIONAL

Dec 18th Sunday Magic Gentry in de Vrolijke Viking

Jan 22nd Gentry Open Trial in de Vrolijke Viking

Jan 29th GENTRY OPEN XVI

Sunday Magic Gentry Events

Sunday Magic Gentry is a casual tournament that is more about trying out a new deck and connecting with the rest of the community than it is about getting very competitive. Generally it will aim to be 5 to 6 rounds of swiss play with a very flat payout. Participants in these are likely to receive small goodies that are left from previous sponsorships.

Cardwallet tournament series

The cardwallet tournament series is a competitive setting that will likely bring together a lot of different communities. The winner of the Gentry Open trial will receive a bye to the Gentry Open XVI. It should be a great opportunity to introduce Gentry to a bunch of other players in the Belgian and even international community and I will do my best to participate as well.

The Invitational

The invitational is the most spectator-oriented of all Gentry events and features 8 invited players playing selected decks in a single elimination bracket that will broadcast every single match to the twitch channel (yes, that still exists!). Usually this event takes place in a private location but for this edition we are trying a slightly different approach and will be hosting it from de Vrolijke Viking, my bar and therefor the de facto home of Gentry. Spectators are welcome and can even play Gentry and Chaos Sealed Round Robin events there, so bring some friends and enjoy an afternoon of Gentry!

The Gentry Open

Even though it was a small event, the 15th Gentry Open really pushed home how important it is to keep Gentry going to me. We saw a couple of new players dipping their toes into the pool and saw the legacy of multiple Gentry champions at work. With the announced season above, I hope to reinvigorate the once thriving community. In fact, I am hoping that the Gentry Open will generate enough excitement that I will have to look for a different venue than de Vrolijke Viking, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

But in the end, not much will change from previous editions of the Gentry Opens, we will try to get sponsoring going and will make sure every participant gets a goodie box just for participating that is already awesome and then has something to play for every step of the way, with boosters being paid out after swiss and top cut playing for extra goodies.

The Website

Putting content on this website has been a very low priority for me lately but I understand a lot of people need this to be able to stay engaged and connected to the community. I would love to do more but that seems very hard to do for me at the current time. If people feel like writing Gentry related content, feel free to contact me and I will very gladly edit your content to be put on here.

The Format

It was announced in the previous article, but it can’t hurt to repeat it here again. With Dominaria United, 4 sets rotate out of Gentry: Zendikar Rising, Kaldheim, Strixhaven and D&D, Forgotten Realms. In addition, Oni-Cult Anvil and Sokenzan Smelter are upgraded to rare and can thus only be played once in your decks. Both these changes will have a huge impact on Gentry and will make a lot of strategies and cards that were previously unviable into interesting options.

The Promise

I am going to do my best to make this season of Gentry into the best I can make it, I hope this article and the planned events clearly illustrate that. But without your interest and participation it will be all for naught so I hope to see people spreading the news, contacting old players that fell off the radar, introducing new players that want to try playing real cards without breaking the bank, discussing and brewing ideas on decks and interesting cards. Share your enthusiasm with as many people as you can, and we will turn this into an amazing season.

Looking forward to a bright future,
Niels

Niels Viaene came into contact with Magic first through the Kazz & Zakk starter set in 1996, but it wouldn’t be until 2000, around the time Prophecy came out that he actually started playing magic thanks to his nephew. Niels’ Magic career has been a roller coaster up to now, including Grand Prix Paris 2009 top 8, Pro Tour San Diego 2010 top 8, becoming a L3 Magic Judge in 2015 and managing the community effort that is the League of New and Beginning Magic: the Gathering Players, the birthing ground for Gentry since 2012. All this comes from a deep love for the game that is far from diminishing.

2 Comments

  1. David

    Reply

    Hi there! We are a new group about 1 hour away from Malmö in Sweden that will start playing Gentry every second week. Im looking forward to hear more about updates and new decks in the gentry formats. Best Regards We Play Cards 🙂

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